The small, simple church was for many years the oldest in the Swiss city of Lucerne. However, Peter's Chapel became synonymous with all things new after it installed Jesus powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), capable of communicating in 100 different languages.
"It was actually an experiment. We wanted to see and understand how people would react to VI Jesus. What would they talk to him about? Would they be interested in talking to him? We are probably pioneers in this," said Marko Schmid, a theologian from the church.
The installation, known as Deus in Machina, was launched in August as the latest initiative in a multi-year collaboration with a local university's immersive reality research lab.
After projects that experimented with virtual and augmented reality, the church decided that the next step would be the installation of avatars. "We talked about what kind of avatar it should be – a theologian, a person or a saint? But then we realized that the best figure would be Jesus himself," Schmid explains.
Given that they had limited space and wanted a place where people could have private conversations with the avatar, the church replaced its priest and installed a computer and cables in the confessional. After training the VI program in theological texts, visitors could ask questions of a long-haired image of Jesus that was displayed through a grid screen. It responded in real time, offering answers generated through artificial intelligence.
Visitors were advised not to disclose personal information and to confirm that they are aware that they interact with the avatar at their own risk. "It is not a confession. We had no intention of imitating a confession," said Šmid.
During the two-month experiment period, more than 1.000 people, including Muslims and tourists from countries as far away as China and Vietnam, took the opportunity to interact with the avatar.
Although installation data will be released next week, feedback from more than 230 users suggests that two-thirds of them found it a "spiritual experience," Schmid said. "So we can say that they had a religiously positive moment with this VI Jesus. For me, that was surprising," he pointed out.
Others were more negative, with some telling the church that it was impossible for them to talk to the machine. A local journalist who tried the device described the responses as "banal, repetitive and filled with wisdom reminiscent of calendar clichés".
Feedback suggests there was a big difference in the avatars' responses, Schmid said.
"I have the impression that sometimes he was really very good and people were incredibly happy, surprised and inspired. And then there were moments when he was not so good, maybe he was more superficial," he said.
The experiment also met with criticism within the church community, Schmid revealed, with Catholic colleagues protesting the use of the confessional, while Protestant colleagues apparently objected to the use of images in this way.
However, what struck Schmid the most was the risk the church took in trusting that VI would not provide answers that were illegal, explicit, or offered interpretations or spiritual advice that went against the church's teachings.
Hoping to mitigate this risk, the church conducted tests with 30 people before installing the avatar. After launch, they ensured that support is always close to the users.
"We never had the impression that he was saying anything strange. But, of course, we could never guarantee that he wouldn't say anything strange," Schmid pointed out.
In the end, it was this uncertainty that led to his decision to keep the avatar ultimately just an experiment.
"If we were to place this kind of Jesus permanently, I wouldn't do it. Because the responsibility would be too great," says Schmid.
However, he was quick to point out the broader potential of this idea.
"It's a really simple, accessible tool with which you can talk about religion, Christianity, the Christian faith," he said, pondering how it could be reworked into a multifaceted spiritual guide to answer religious questions.
For him, the experiment – and the great interest it generated – showed that people wanted to go beyond the Bible, sacraments and rituals.
"I think there's a thirst to talk to Jesus. People want an answer: they want words and to listen to what he's saying. I think that's one part of it. Then, of course, there's also curiosity. They want to see what this is," Schmid said. .
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